'Arrow': Michael Jai White on the Bronze Tiger

The second episode of
"Arrow" Season 2 introduces a new villain to fight against Oliver Queen: the Bronze Tiger.
Michael Jai White (
"Spawn," "Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse") plays a new version of the Tiger in "Identity."

Find out what the actor and martial arts expert had to say about the character in this interview.

When asked to describe the Bronze Tiger, otherwise known as Ben Turner, White said the guy was a "baddie." "He's very hellbent on finding out if he's the toughest guy on the block," White explained. "He interacts mainly with China White. He's a friend of hers and they've got an interesting friendship there -- she's basically siccing him on Arrow."

Fans of the DC comics character may have to adjust their expectations a bit when the Tiger hits their TV screens -- this is a reality-based version of the warrior. "I'm not walking around with a tiger head!" White said with a laugh. "It's more the realm of reality. He's a real guy who fights in a tighter style and wears these claws. It's kind of strap-on claws."

Although White is an accomplished martial artist with plenty of experience in the action genre, the actor let the stunt coordinator take the reins when setting up the Bronze Tiger's fight scenes. "I show up on set, they tell me what to do," White said. "Some things may change but it's 90 percent as choreographed."Considering that White has a lot of respect for the action in "Arrow," this wasn't too hard for the actor. "I watched clips [of 'Arrow'] and I was really impressed with the visual style," he explained.

Michael Jai White didn't always want to play this bad guy, of course. Back when he was a kid, the actor had a very different superhero role model. "It's always been the Hulk for me growing up. Probably because I had anger issues."